World News – US – SpaceX to launch new satellite and you can watch it live

I’ve said it before – probably several times – but SpaceX has had a very, very busy year.The company has launched missions on a shockingly regular basis despite the coronavirus pandemic and has even managed to hold up its promise to NASA by launching the first manned mission in its Crew Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station

Now, in what will be a somewhat more routine but nonetheless important mission, the company today plans to launch a new, ultra-advanced GPS III satellite into Earth orbit. The mission will be launched a little later than usual, the window will open at 9:43 am EDT

As usual with just about every SpaceX launch, the entire event will be televised live by the company while SpaceX staff will provide commentary and additional details on the mission. You can watch the launch via the integrated YouTube window below:

SpaceX is targeting Friday October 2 for the Falcon 9 launch of the GPS III Space Vehicle 04 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Base in Florida

The 15-minute launch window opens at 9:43 am EDT or 01:43 UTC on October 3 After the floors have been separated, SpaceX will land the first stage of the Falcon 9 on the “Just Read the Instructions” droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean The spacecraft will deploy approximately 1 hour and 29 minutes after takeoff

This is now the fourth GPS III satellite to be deployed to Earth orbit SpaceX attempted to launch a GPS III satellite in April, but this launch was significantly delayed due to various factors and was ultimately launched at the end of June It was the third such satellite to be sent into space So it’s been a few months since we’ve seen a launch with this type of payload

The GPS III is not yet operational, at least in no way that would change the way you use your own GPS devices Current GPS technology is quite impressive and is capable of reducing positions to around two feet from its exact location The GPS III is even more powerful, and once it’s up and running it will be able to reduce things to less than nine inches Now, it may not make much of a difference when using Google Maps to find your way around a place. neighborhood unknown, but this could significantly improve the accuracy of some applications that require a lot more precision

SpaceX, Falcon 9, United States Space Force, United Launch Alliance, Space launch, Rocket, GPS Block III